The Birthday
by Metallicafangirl
Summary: He realizes that it's her birthday, and decides to go. She never expected to see him again. What will happen when he turns up on her doorstep? Rated because of Reno's language.(Not a usual couple)
1. Her Birthday

This was going to be a one-shot fic, but it got too long. Instead, it will be a few chapters. Nothing epic, but long enough. Hopefully, I will update this quickly.  
  
.  
  
Tseng put down his pen, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was half way through the reports that were due for Friday. He still had three days to finish them, but he wanted to be ahead of things. It made him feel like he was in control, something he wasn't so sure of these days. He glanced at the clock. It read 22.00. Uttering another sigh, the Turk leader rose from his seat, shuffled the paperwork around a bit, and headed for the door.  
  
It had been a long day, and he owed himself some sleep. He had got up long before dawn, and had gone straight from breakfast to work, a thing that wasn't hard to do, considering that he lived in the Shin-Ra building. He hated paperwork, but it was something he had to do. After all, there was no one to do it for him. Elena was too much of an airhead, Rude couldn't read anything else than his own name, and there was no way in hell he'd let Reno anywhere near it.  
  
He walked through the silent hallways of Shin-Ra HQ, heading for his room. Above the 60th floor, no one worked later than 20.00, unless they had to, or unless their name was Tseng. He hadn't worked earlier than to 21.00 in years. He was a workaholic by necessity; there was no one else to do his work for him.  
  
****************  
  
He closed the door with a soft click. Looking around his room, he wondered what kept him living there.  
  
It was a neat room, with a bed, a desk, a chair, and not much else. There was a bathroom, and a little stove to cook his food if he needed to, but that was it. No pictures, no postcards, no personal belongings, no nothing. On the wall was a clock, telling both time and date. Glancing up on it on his way to the bed, Tseng stopped in his tracks, doing a double-take.  
  
November 19th.  
  
Tomorrow was her birthday. This year, maybe he would actually be there. It had been so long since he had seen her. He must take tomorrow off; god knew he needed the vacation. Mumbling to himself, he pulled out his PHS and dialled Reeve's number.  
  
"Reeve." A voice answered. It sounded somewhat slurred, as if the owner had been sleeping.  
  
" It's Tseng."  
  
"Tseng? Is something wrong?"  
  
"No. I'm taking a day off tomorrow."  
  
"What!? Why? We nee-"  
  
Click.  
  
There, now he had informed a superior about it. Reeve might not like it, but he had to accept it. Tseng was going, no matter what. He hadn't exactly said no, had he? He had only asked why. After all, it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Turning to his bed, he decided it was time to catch up on his sleep. He needed to be well rested tomorrow.  
  
******************************  
  
Yuffie hung up the phone, and stared at it for a while. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. ` We're so sorry, Yuffie, but we can't come tomorrow, we're busy. Maybe we'll come by at Wednesday?´. Yeah, right, busy. Like hell they were busy! They just didn't want to see her. Tomorrow was her birthday, god dammit! Couldn't they just come by for an hour or something? Or was their ´job´ too important for them to visit one of their best friends?  
  
Yuffie plopped down on her couch and stared at the fireplace. None of her friends could come for her birthday. And she was turning 17, too. She sighed. Maybe they weren't such good friends after all. She curled up on the couch and sniffed a little.  
  
She had called to ask if Tifa and Cloud Strife could stop by tomorrow, since it was her birthday and all, but they had said no. So had all of the other friends she had called. She glanced at the clock. It read 22.00. She should probably go to bed, or she wouldn't get up before noon the next day. Who cared anyway? It wasn't like there would be anything to do tomorrow.  
  
Against her will, her eyelids started to droop, and before she knew it, she was asleep.  
  
***********************************  
  
Tseng toyed with the small black box that held her present. He had spent two hours that morning going through every store he could find, searching for a present. After much searching and many wasted gil, he had found the perfect one. Actually, he had found two, but he couldn't decide which one to choose, so he bought both. He wasn't sure if he'd give her both, though. Well, he had a present for her, and that was all that mattered.  
  
After finding it, he had walked to the train station. Shortly after Midgar was re-built, the President had had a railway built between Midgar and Kalm. It only took a few hours by train. After checking her file, Tseng knew that she had moved to Kalm shortly after Meteor; she had never gotten along all that well with her dad. Truth to tell, neither had Tseng. Her father wasn't a very agreeable man.  
  
Now he was sitting on the train to Kalm, and he was beginning to regret his decision to come. There was a big possibility that her friends would be there. If they were, he was in trouble. They hated him. He didn't blame them, they had good reasons to, but they might kick him out without him getting a chance to see her. Worse, they might try to kill him. Ah, hell, he was in for it now. He couldn't chicken out, it was too late.  
  
*************************************  
  
And that's chapter one. You'll find out more of the plot in the next chapter. (not that it's much of a plot mind you.) Tseng never actually mentions ´her´ name, but I'm sure you can guess. Please review, it's appreciated. 


	2. Surprising Arrivals

Chappie number two. The plot thickens.(Or maybe not) I posted chapter one yesterday, and I've already got reviews! Go me!  
  
General Dredge - Thank you. I will keep it up.  
  
Deathalletta - No, Yuffie isn't Tseng's sister. They are not related at all. You'll see.  
  
. * * * * * * * *  
  
Tseng had managed to fall asleep, but woke with a start when the train came to a stop. He glanced at his watch. Still two hours before they reached Kalm, so why had they stopped? Stuffing the little black box in his pocket, he went to investigate.  
  
When he reached the front of the train, he was stopped. There was a group of people in front of the train driver, all of them demanding to know what happened. The driver tried to calm them down, but to no avail. They kept on screaming and yelling at him, not even letting him tell them what happened. Tseng elbowed his way through the crowd, earning quite a few insults and yells on the way.  
  
When he finally reached the other end, the driver had retreated to his compartment.(A/N: I'm not sure if that's the right word for it. If you know what it should be, please tell me.) Knocking on the door, he let himself in before the driver could answer.  
  
The man was sitting in a chair, talking in his PHS, but stopped short when he saw Tseng enter. His mouth opened, but not a word came out. He just sat there, staring dumbly at the Turk leader for several minutes. Finally, Tseng had had enough.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" He asked impatiently.  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"Why isn't the train moving?"  
  
"We're having engine troubles." The driver explained.  
  
Tseng turned and headed for the door again. Glancing over his shoulder, he tossed a final statement to the confused driver.  
  
"I want this train moving in less than half an hour."  
  
"What!? We can't possibly fix the engine in half an hour!"  
  
Spinning around, Tseng pointed his gun at the mans head.  
  
"I said; I want this train moving in less than half an hour. I didn't ask for you to tell me the probability of you succeeding in fixing it. If you're not ready in half an hour, it's your head that rolls." With that, he walked out of the compartment, leaving behind a very scared and thoroughly confused driver.  
  
Needless to say, half an hour later, the train was moving again. Settling in to his seat, Tseng drifted off to sleep.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Yuffie blinked at the sun in her eyes. Sitting up, she winced at the horrible backache she had. She couldn't believe she had actually fallen asleep on the couch last night!  
  
"Aw, man, my back frickin´ hurts!" She told no one in particular.  
  
Looking around groggily, she wondered what had woken her up. There it was again! The doorbell rang insistently, causing Yuffie to jump a little in excitement. Maybe it was her friends! Of course it would be, they couldn't have been serious about not coming today.  
  
Nearly skipping to the door, she wondered how she could have been so stupid. To think her friends would abandon her on her birthday. Ridiculous.  
  
She threw the door open, a wild grin on her face.  
  
"Guys! What took you so lo- "She trailed off.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
He was finally there. Half an hour later than he had expected, but at least he made it. He was standing in front of her blue and white house in Kalm, gathering up the courage to actually ring the doorbell. Drawing a deep breath, he did so.  
  
No one answered, so after a while, he rang again. This time, he didn't have to wait long. The door was opened by a young girl with short, messy brown hair and grey eyes. She was wearing a wide grin.  
  
"Guys! What took you so lo- " She trailed off. 


	3. Only a Phonecall Away

My longest chapter yet! The others were short, because I like doing cliffhangers. I know, I'm totally evil for doing that, but I like it! I'm evil, so what? I'm born this way, what's your excuse?  
  
.  
  
Yuffie's eyes travelled upwards, taking in the blue suit, the neat tie, the crisp white shirt and the long black hair, and then she did a double-take. It couldn't be.But it was.  
  
"Tseng?" She asked hesitantly. Indeed it was.  
  
The tall man smiled at her, pushing his sunglasses down a bit, just enough for him to peer at her over the rim of them. It had been ten years since he last saw the young girl in front of him.  
  
"Happy birthday, princess." He said, holding out her present.  
  
She took it without hesitation, her grin once again appearing. She started tearing at the wrapping paper, but then she remembered she had a guest.  
  
"Where are my manners?"  
  
"I wasn't aware you had any, princess." Tseng teased. If anyone of his colleagues had seen him now, they wouldn't have recognized him. The stoic Turk leader, who hadn't cracked a smile for as long as anyone could remember, was actually grinning.  
  
Yuffie gave him a Death Glare .  
  
" I was going to continue that, you blockhead! Don't interrupt me! I was going to tell you to come in. So do."  
  
"Thank you, princess."  
  
"You're welcome, bodyguard." She answered.  
  
"Why so formal, Tsengie? You haven't called me ´princess´ for years." She asked while ushering him inside, showing him to the kitchen. Wincing a bit at his horrible nickname, Tseng answered.  
  
"Because I felt like it. And please don't call me ´Tsengie´. Tseng is just fine."  
  
"Oh, please, Tseng, you don't expect me to believe that, do you? You never do anything ´just because you felt like it´. Now, have some cake, you look like they never feed you, boy!"  
  
" I am not a boy, I am 17 years your senior, Yuffie." He protested, but sat down and took some of the cake. It was a chocolate cake with strawberry jam. Both chocolate and strawberries had always been two big addictions of hers, and even ten years hadn't changed that.  
  
Yuffie fixed him with a level stare, and put some more cake on his plate before he could tell her not to. Knowing better than to argue with her when she had that particular look on her face, he ate without further protest.  
  
Sitting down across from him, she took some cake for herself. Only then did Tseng realize that he was the only one there besides Yuffie. He wondered where her Avalanche friends were. He had no time to ask her about it though, since she started question him herself.  
  
"Soooo, how's life with Shin-Ra? Ok, I hope?"  
  
Making himself comfortable, Tseng started telling her about his life and the sayings and doings of Shin-Ra's employees.  
  
***************************  
  
Reeve was sitting in his office, tinkering a little with what one day might become Cait Sith's successor, when the three Turks, Reno, Rude and Elena burst in through the door. They looked completely dishevelled, and Reno was swearing worse than normal.  
  
"Reeve!" He shouted once he was well inside the aforementioned mans office.  
  
"Calm down, Reno. What's wrong?" Reeve asked him, quite a bit shocked by their sudden appearance. Reno drew a deep breath, trying to calm down, not totally succeeding.  
  
"Tseng, that's what's wrong!"  
  
"Tseng? What's with Tseng?"  
  
"He's fucking gone! That's what's with him! We searched the whole damn building, and we can't find him anywhere!"  
  
That stunned Reeve into silence for a while. Then, his memory kicked into action, throwing up a conversation he had with Tseng the night previous. It was something about taking a day off.He couldn't remember Tseng's exact words, but it was something along those lines.  
  
" I can't believe he actually took a day off! I though he wasn't serious!" Reeve exclaimed, making the gathered Turks look at him as if he had grown an extra head. Reeve hastened to explain.  
  
" He called me last night, telling me he was taking today off. He gave no explanation, so I though he was joking."  
  
"Joking? Reeve, you really don't know Tseng, do you? But day off? He never has a day off!"  
  
"Then maybe it was time for one, Reno." Elena pointed out.  
  
"Shut up, rookie." The red head shot back. He turned back to Reeve. "We need him here. Now. Do you have is number?"  
  
"Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I need him here too. He needs to hand in some reports, and as far as I know, he's the only one who has them. We'll just have to call him."  
  
"That's what I have been telling you, Reeve. Now get cracking."  
  
****************************  
  
Tseng was amazed at how easily they had slipped into their old banter that had been established when he was her bodyguard. It was as if those ten years had never passed at all. He was just telling her of Reeve's latest experiment, a replacement for Cait Sith, when his PHS rang. He had forgotten he even brought it with him, so he was quite shocked when it rang suddenly. Of course, being Tseng, he didn't show it. He just pulled it out of his pocket and answered calmly.  
  
"Tseng."  
  
"Tseng, it's Reeve. We really need you to come ba-"  
  
" No."  
  
"What do you mean, ´no´? It is of outmost vitality that you come back imidia-"  
  
"NO. I will not come back. I don't care if the whole fucking building has burned to the ground, you'll just have to manage. I'm off duty, I don't have time to save your sorry asses."  
  
"Bu-"  
  
Click. Tseng hung up on his superior, and met Yuffie's curious gaze.  
  
"What?" He asked.  
  
"What ever happened to; ´Be polite at all costs` , Tseng?" Said, referring to something he had always told her when she was younger.  
  
"I woke up." The told her dryly.  
  
" The real world can do that to you, I suppose." She said, a hint of sadness in her eyes.  
  
" It can." He decided not to ask her why she was sad, he knew her only too well. She would shrug and act like nothing was wrong. If it was something she wanted him to know, she'd tell him.  
  
Instead, he listened silently as she started to tell him of her friends in Avalanche, and their adventures together. It was something that had always interested him; he had always wondered how his little princess had ended up saving the world together with a bunch of rebels and an ex-Turk.  
  
*******************  
  
End of chapter. Not many more to go. I've decided to write a prequel to this afterwards, and after that, I'll write a sequel to it. Screwed up order, I know, but I like it that way. I would once again like to thank my reviewers, you're great. If you want more of my fics about the Turks, go and read Office Day. If you want humour, read You Must Be Joking. Enough of self advertisement, goodbye.  
  
- Metallicafangirl. 


	4. Oh Happy Day

Fourth chapter, I don't have so many reviews, but I posted the first only two days ago. (I know, I'm writing too fast for my own good, but I want to get cracking with the prequel.)  
  
I would like to thank my reviewers, you are a great help. Really, no kidding. This may become the last chapter, but I may have to write some more, if I can't fit the ending into this one. Anyway, I'm babbling, I'll let you read the chapter now. (Yeah, like anyone reads the authors notes anyway.)  
  
*******************  
  
Tseng and Yuffie were sitting on her porch, talking about anything that came to mind. So far, they had covered the Shin-Ra employees, the members of Avalanche, the rebuilding of Midgar and the current lack of cake. As it turned out, ten years in the Turks hadn't served to diminish Tseng's appetite for food. For as long as Yuffie could remember, he alone had eaten enough food to last a SOLDIER squad. So now, there was no cake left. Leaving the cake subject, an evil thought struck Yuffie. Alright, not evil, but at least moderately mischievous.  
  
"So, Tseng, have you gotten over your little fear of actually having fun every once in a while?" She asked. Tseng suddenly looked very innocent.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about?"  
  
"Aw, c'mon, Tseng, I've known you for thirteen years, and never once have you attended a party."  
  
"I've visited more parties than I'd care to remember. And some of them are better off forgotten." He said. At Yuffie's curious look, he explained.  
  
"Reno stripping off all his clothes while singing I'm Too Sexy, out of tune, on the top of his voice, isn't something you'd want to remember. " He said dryly.  
  
Yuffie sat absolutely still, staring straight ahead at nothing, trying to escape the horrible mental picture her ex-bodyguards words had conjured up. It was entirely too terrible to imagine how Tseng must have felt, seeing his inferior Turk colleague strip. She shuddered.  
  
"Yuffie?"  
  
Her bodyguards/oldest friend's voice made her snap out of her reverie.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What are you thinking about? You just blanked out."  
  
"I was trying to get the bad mental image of Reno out of my head."  
  
"Oh. So have I, but to no avail, I'm afraid. That picture will follow me until the day I die." Tseng sighed.  
  
Yuffie giggled. This day was turning out to be a lot different than she had expected. For one, she hadn't counted with her old bodyguard turning up on her door step. It had turned out a lot better than she had expected. She yawned, she still had a lot of sleep to catch up on, and she was very tired. Much to Tseng's surprise, she leaned her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Thank you for coming today, Tseng, I really appreciate it." She said, before drifting off to sleep.  
  
"You're welcome, my princess." He murmured, and slipped his arm around her shoulder, holding her against him while she slept, like he had done so many times when she was a child.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Reeve stared at the PHS in his hand with a look of utter shock on his face. Tseng had literally told him to fuck off and leave him alone. Tseng, who never raised his voice. Tseng, who was almost unbearably polite, even to people he hated. Tseng, the leader of one of Shin-Ra's most valued units, had told him to go to hell.  
  
Reno and the other two waited impatiently for him to do something; move, make a sound, anything, but he just sat there. Finally reaching the end of whatever patience he had, Reno snapped.  
  
"Bloody hell, man, are you just gonna sit there 'til the end of the world?!"  
  
"Well, Reno, this is the end of the world as we know it." Reeve answered.  
  
"What the fuck are you talking about, Reeve?"  
  
Reeve looked up at the redhead, finally putting the PHS aside. He looked as if his own mother had just told him she was running away with her father brother's uncle's cousin's twin's sisters cousin twice removed. In other words, he was about as shocked as you could be without getting a heart attack to boot.  
  
"Tseng just told me to fuck off, that he was on his day off, and couldn't be bothered to save our sorry asses." He told them. Reno laughed suddenly, causing everyone to look at him as if he had gone crazy.  
  
"He got that one from me, he did." The redhead gasped through his gales of laughter. Then he straightened up, coming to his senses again.  
  
"So we'll have to wait ´till he comes back?"  
  
Reeve nodded.  
  
"Where is he anyway?"  
  
"I don't have a clue." Reeve shrugged helplessly.  
  
"Damn!" Reno shouted, slamming his fist down on Reeve's desk.  
  
* * * * * ** * * * * *  
  
After maybe an hour, Tseng glanced at his clock. Nearly 16.00, time to get going back. He looked down at the girl asleep in his arms. Brushing away a stray lock of her brown hair from her peaceful face, he thought about her.  
  
For nearly thirteen years, that little girl had held his heart in her hands. He could remember the first time he had held her like this, on a rainy night, what seemed a lifetime ago. The time she had stole the chunk of ice he liked to call his heart.  
  
Shaking off the memories, he gently shook her shoulder. She opened her beautiful eyes, and looked at him sleepily. She was simply beautiful, even with tousled hair and crumpled clothes.  
  
"Wha..?" She mumbled.  
  
"I must be going now, Yuffie." He said gently. Once again, he reflected that his colleagues wouldn't recognize him if they saw him now. The emotionless Turk leader, holding a girl as she slept, making sure not to startle her when she woke up. Not exactly an everyday thing. But then again, this was no usual young lady. It was his princess.  
  
"Do you have too?" She asked, once again sounding like the little child he had taken care of. The only difference was that now he loved her differently. She no longer was a child to him. Sadly, there was no way she could feel the same about him; that would be wistful thinking.  
  
He nodded in answer to her question. Sighing, she let go of him, almost reluctantly. He mentally slapped himself. /Stop thinking about her like that! You're only making matters worse!/  
  
" Alright, but don't be a stranger, you hear? Don't make me wait ten years till next time."  
  
"I won't, I promise. Goodbye." He gave her a quick hug and stood up. Before she could reply anything, he spoke again.  
  
"Hopefully, I won't have any horror stories about Reno when I come next time." He said lightly. She chuckled a bit, and then he was gone, leaving her alone with only the present to remind her of his visit. The present! She hadn't opened it yet!  
  
Retrieving the little black box from the kitchen table, she started to, once again, tear at the wrapping paper. After a few minutes she finally got it open. Damn, Tseng really didn't hold back on the tape! She stopped short when she saw the contents of the box. A necklace. A silver necklace with a large emerald shaped like a rose. It must have cost a fortune! She couldn't believe he had actually spent that much on her. Smiling, she put it on.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Walking down the road from Yuffie's house, Tseng found himself whistling an old tune he had heard some time ago. He had never been so happy, so convinced that everything was right with the world as he was then. He didn't notice Avalanche until he had nearly passed them. In fact, he wouldn't have noticed them if their leader, Cloud Strife, hadn't seen him.  
  
"Turk!" The blond man hissed, drawing his huge sword. Tseng wondered why the hell he was bringing his sword to his friend's birthday party, but he didn't voice that question. Instead, he gave the members of Avalanche a cheery wave.  
  
"Hello!" He said, grinning like a maniac, but not caring. Turning to leave, he was once again stopped by Strife.  
  
" What's up this time, Turk, running off to find your little friends? Gonna try to kill us again?"  
  
Tseng turned back to the Avalanche leader, tilting his head, as if thinking something over.  
  
"Hmm, no, I don't think so, Strife. Not today. It's my day off. Can I go now?" He finished, gesturing towards the train station.  
  
"As much as I'd like to stay and chat with you and your friends, I've got a train to catch. Have a nice day."  
  
He walked away, leaving Avalanche stunned. He put his hands in his pockets and started whistling again. In doing so, he found the other little black box he had bought for Yuffie. Maybe next time he saw her, me might have the guts to give it to her. The worst thing that could happen was that she would refuse the ring, right? Cracking a bit f a smile, he headed for the train to Midgar. This had been the best day in his life.  
  
*Finish*  
  
And that's it. Now I'll get to work on the Prequel, or sequel. Or both. Please R&R. 


End file.
